Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Second Season - Episode 19 Discussion / Poll

[DragoZERO]

Originally Posted by GN0010 Nosferatu

It was said in Season 1, I believe that all the Gundams have a lockdown, so only the pilots can operate it. Hence the red scan.

Ah yes.. now I remember. See.. it was memory. lol.

Originally Posted by GN0010 Nosferatu

Most likely she'll fail in stealing it. Soma has a gun pointed at her, and she's a hardcore super soldier. So, that's definately gonna be a stalemate.

It would be bad ass if she shot them both, lol.

[Aquaman OS]

Veda was part of the Bio metric lock though. They might no longer have them.

[dahak]

Originally Posted by Shiroth

As shown plenty of times in the past, Gundam prequels or side stories appear in a novel or manga form. An animated version seems very unlikely for Gundam 00.

Unlike 0080, 0083, 8th MS Team and MS Igloo all of which fit the description of animated sidestory or prequel to either the original Gundam or Zeta? Some of the Gundam Evolve episodes fit as well.

Such things have and are still happening for UC.

[4Tran]

Originally Posted by dahak

Unlike 0080, 0083, 8th MS Team and MS Igloo all of which fit the description of animated sidestory or prequel to either the original Gundam or Zeta? Some of the Gundam Evolve episodes fit as well.

Such things have and are still happening for UC.

Yeah, but that's UC, and UC is a lot more special than any of the other universes. What you can count on for certain are the Gundam 00 Special Editions - these should be in the same vein as the Seed and Destiny ones. I think that there's a decent chance that there might be an Endless Waltz-equivalent as well, depending on how popular Gundam 00 turns out to be, and whether the creators have any ideas worth implementing.

[SirWence]

Originally Posted by GN0010 Nosferatu

Most likely she'll fail in stealing it. Soma has a gun pointed at her, and she's a hardcore super soldier. So, that's definately gonna be a stalemate.

Could have sworn the previews themselves showed Setsuna in the 00.. that alone tells me its probably a failed plan.

[vektar]

im just wating for the new psycho/destroy gundam equivalent for this show

[Demongod86]

Wasn't that Alejandro's bling bling in S1?

[vektar]

like zeta gundam and ZZ gundam there should be a MK 2 of sorts

[GN0010 Nosferatu]

Originally Posted by vektar

im just wating for the new psycho/destroy gundam equivalent for this show

That'd be Louise's MA in the new upcoming ep.

[dahak]

Originally Posted by 4Tran

Yeah, but that's UC, and UC is a lot more special than any of the other universes.

It still happens. So it can't be ruled out as a possibility.

Originally Posted by 4Tran

What you can count on for certain are the Gundam 00 Special Editions - these should be in the same vein as the Seed and Destiny ones. I think that there's a decent chance that there might be an Endless Waltz-equivalent as well, depending on how popular Gundam 00 turns out to be, and whether the creators have any ideas worth implementing.

My somewhat cynical view is it depends on the sales of the Model Kits. If OO is doing as well as some people have been implying on that front [i.e. better than anything non UC] there is every possibility Bandai will consider OVAs showing off MSVs and new hardware to extend the kit range. Thats what Igloo is at heart, who had the T61 on thier list of must haves before Igloo 2-2? Next episode is going to try and convince us the Guntank is cool.

If the OO Gunpla sales are there a Secret Weapons of Celestial Being series doesn't seem that unlikely. If they are not then it won't happen.

Seed doesn't get the kit sales so Bandai has less reason to make more animation.

[4Tran]

Originally Posted by dahak

It still happens. So it can't be ruled out as a possibility.

My point is that because of UC's special status, it shouldn't be used as reasoning for any other Gundam show.

Originally Posted by dahak

My somewhat cynical view is it depends on the sales of the Model Kits. If OO is doing as well as some people have been implying on that front [i.e. better than anything non UC] there is every possibility Bandai will consider OVAs showing off MSVs and new hardware to extend the kit range. Thats what Igloo is at heart, who had the T61 on thier list of must haves before Igloo 2-2? Next episode is going to try and convince us the Guntank is cool.

If the OO Gunpla sales are there a Secret Weapons of Celestial Being series doesn't seem that unlikely. If they are not then it won't happen.

Seed doesn't get the kit sales so Bandai has less reason to make more animation.

I don't find this to be a cynical view at all since Gundam is ultimately a tool for generating revenue, and most of the big decisions are made for marketing reasons. I don't know what the relative popularity of the model kits are though - do you have any pertinent links?

It's also worth noting that Seed got two series and a movie because it was a huge money-making endeavour. Not only did it reinvigorate interest in the Gundam franchise, but it brought in whole untapped demographics and new merchandising streams (Drama CDs, cellphone accessories, etc.). As far as I know, Bandai has a strong interest in keeping that going, hence more Seed works.

On the other hand, even if Gundam 00 toys are popular, it's also a market segment that Bandai understands very well. They can just as easily prop it up by starting up yet another universe; and they have a vested interest in doing just that. This competes with future Gundam 00 works, so the latter is only likely if Gundam 00 itself is deemed popular enough. As far as I can tell, this is a definite "maybe".

Oh, and Gundam 00 animated prequels are extremely unlikely for the above reasons.

[brightman]

Originally Posted by 4Tran

On the other hand, even if Gundam 00 toys are popular, it's also a market segment that Bandai understands very well. They can just as easily prop it up by starting up yet another universe; and they have a vested interest in doing just that. This competes with future Gundam 00 works, so the latter is only likely if Gundam 00 itself is deemed popular enough. As far as I can tell, this is a definite "maybe".

Not necessarily. You have to keep in mind that the bulk of the revenue for the Namco Bandai corporation, that is, the full company itself, comes from their toy division (37.2% in 2008, compared to only 7.6% for their video and music contents division). Gundam models typically make up a quarter of their toy sales, or almost 10% of the entire company's sales, more than everything they made from the video/music division combined. So for the overall profitability and health of the company, Gundam models are significantly more important to them than anything else, including any DVDs/CDs that the Seed franchise was popular with.

As such, if 00 was indeed more successful than Seed in terms of models (which was a disaster for Destiny as mentioned in interviews of the Bandai CEO), then you can be sure that Bandai would do something about it, because it is definitely not easy to create a series that can sell models, as Destiny demonstrated.

[4Tran]

Oh, I know how important Gundam toy sales are to Bandai, and that other peripheral sales are much lesser. My point is that the tried and true method of increasing model sales is to make more different universes or to produce new models of existing designs. As you said about Destiny model sales: making yet another show in the same universe isn't necessarily a recipe for success.

Now in comparison to Seed peripheral sales, those come from a market segment that is new to Bandai, and it's one that they don't really understand. Hence it's also one that's easy to lose whereas the toy buyers will always be there. That's why the Cosmic Era material gets so much more proportionate love - it caters to groups that Bandai desperately wants to keep.

[brightman]

Originally Posted by 4Tran

Oh, I know how important Gundam toy sales are to Bandai, and that other peripheral sales are much lesser. My point is that the tried and true method of increasing model sales is to make more different universes or to produce new models of existing designs. As you said about Destiny model sales: making yet another show in the same universe isn't necessarily a recipe for success.

Except Seed's model sales weren't anything to cry home about, either. Initial enthusiasm was great but on most accounts model buyers eventually turned away and by the end of the show the model sales were not good at all. Seed's demographic in Japan is mostly tilted towards the female segment and away from the traditional Gundam fanbase, one which buy models that keeps the company healthy.

Now in comparison to Seed peripheral sales, those come from a market segment that is new to Bandai, and it's one that they don't really understand. Hence it's also one that's easy to lose whereas the toy buyers will always be there. That's why the Cosmic Era material gets so much more proportionate love - it caters to groups that Bandai desperately wants to keep.

As I said, Gundam is made for model sales. Not all shows guarantee model success and we saw that in the late 80's/early 90's and late 90's, in both cases model sales were low because the shows on air failed to sell models, and in both cases the company's profits took a hit (poor sales starting from the second half of ZZ on, until Victory, basically bankrupted Sunrise and forced Bandai to bail them out).

There is no proven formula for success for models like you said, and one of 00's aim, which was also mentioned by the Bandai CEO, is to improve their ability sell models, something that Seed was only adequate at and that Destiny was miserable at. Bandai clearly recognized that Seed is not a show that helps them at their most profitable business, and that's why they turned to 00. CE is getting "love" due to its DVD/CD sales, but by not making anymore TV sequels, which is what REALLY matters, Bandai is showing that they prefer to take the franchise towards a different direction.